


Please Don't Startle the Hippogriffs

by APenguinAteMySmarthphone



Series: Jr. EXILE Hogwarts AU [1]
Category: Jr. EXILE (LDH), The Rampage from Exile Tribe (Band)
Genre: A complete and chaotic mess is what, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, And no magic battles either, As usual my titles suck, But I regret nothing, Crazy shenanigans, Don't anger mystical creatures with sharp claws kids, Don't even ask how my mind works I just write to feed myself, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm just mentioning every name that doesn't mean they'll all show up, Magic, No one gets hurt, Not gonna put any ships in the tags but interpretation is free real estate as I like to say, Somewhat, What Have I Done, but don't worry, much - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APenguinAteMySmarthphone/pseuds/APenguinAteMySmarthphone
Summary: Shohei's voice breaks the tense silence, shaking almost comically as he glances at his friends for help."What's the first rule when dealing with a hippogriff?"Itsuki frowned, before replying, "I don't know; don't make it angry...?"Zin sighed deeply in resignation. "Then I guess we've already failed rule number one."Or, the two rival Houses learn the hard way that arguing in front of a young hippogriff is probably not the best way to spend your Saturday afternoon.
Series: Jr. EXILE Hogwarts AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027648
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Please Don't Startle the Hippogriffs

**Author's Note:**

> I was on hiatus but the urge to write one-shots awoke me from my slumber. Also, I'm sick to death of schoolwork (aren't we all?) and it's almost Thanksgiving and I need a mcfriggin' break. 
> 
> There are no ships listed this time, but as I said in the tags, interpretation is free real estate.

Their first mistake, Zin reflects, is that they had all decided to spend their weekend doing something that, of all people, _Hokuto_ had suggested. The kid was smart enough in class, yes, but that didn't mean he had the most sense out of their little group. He liked actively looking for something new to do, something exciting and fun, and whether or not it stirred up trouble later on was something he would deal with later. Or _they._ Most of the time it was him, Kaisei, and Shohei who inevitably wound up tagging along, and if it wasn't them he would somehow drag in some of their friends from the other HousesーHufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but never Slytherinーinto the mess. Of course, this didn't mean _everything_ he thought up of led to a disaster, but there was simply too high a count for the amount of times they had all encountered a situation that called for more than a few scrapes for them to feel safe. 

Once, Riku had commented that he was something of a little "prince" in Gryffindor: refined in certain aspects, but a world of trouble in others, and highly used to it occurring as he wished. Not to say it came from any particularly spoiled aspect of the kid; if anything, he could display maturity perfectly well when the time called for it, and was certainly reliable in his own right. _However,_ once he spotted something he was sure was a doorway to adventure, there was absolutely no stopping him, and because the three of them had long since grown accustomed to tagging along with very little protest, he had come to treat it as par the course, without stopping to think too often.

The problem was, it was very, _very_ hard to strictly reprimand him for some of the stunts he pulled, because the genuine curiosity and childish excitement with which he delved into it made it painfully obvious he harbored no ill will whatsoever. In that sense, his fellow Gryffindors really _had_ spoiled him, although at this late date there was very little they could do about it.

"Remind me again," he grumbled, tugging a stray twig that had landed on his shoulder off, "What it is we're doing, exactly?" They were all hiding amidst the trees, eyes peeled just in case any of the professors passed by and caught them in their act of (what he was pretty sure was) transgression. Shohei, who was eyeing the pumpkin patch nervously as if afraid imps would spring up from between the large orange spheres, gave a violent twitch at his inquiry.

"I forgot." Kaisei mumbled, sounding embarrassed; he looked far more relaxed, eyeing the castle above them with a squint. 

"Hokuto said something about hippos?" Shohei frowned, scratching the back of his head. His eyes darted a little nervously, before he continued, "But he sort of rushed out of the common room without much explanation, so I don't really...err...know."

Zin could only offer a sigh. "Of course he did."

The stinging chill in the air, accompanied by the chill of the blue-gray skies, serves for them a reminder that soon, it will be winter. Already there are students huddling near the fires of the common rooms, even on the nicest of days, and there are extra layers beneath their cloaks, accompanied at some times by mittens or gloves, hats, and scarves, all colored (whether by intention or not) in those of their respective Houses. The fields, open as they are to the forces of nature, bring with them an extra bit of cold, exposed as they are to the bite of the wind. In the distance he sees some fellow students rushing up to the castle, books and wands in hand, and he envies them for the warmth of the fireplace that likely awaits them once they have reached the cozy haven of the indoors. 

"By the way," Shohei suddenly pipes up, peering into Kaisei's face abruptly. "Was it true that there was a fight in the Divination course last week?"

Zin whirled around. "I'm sorryーis there true there was a _what?!_ " 

"A fight," Kaisei hunched his large shoulders. "And no, Shohei; it was in the North Tower, yes, but it wasn't during the Divination class, exactly. I think it was after."

"How would you even get into a fight in the North Tower anyway? I kinda reckoned if anyone tried, they'd fall down a staircase or something. Y'know how it is."

" _That's_ what you're worried about? Not who was doing the fighting or _why there was a fight in the first place?!_ "

Kaisei shot him an amused look. "Calm down, Zin-san; it wasn't that big of a deal. No one got hurt, or pulled their wands on each other. Just a spat, that was all."

"Between who?"

Here Kaisei glanced away nervously. "Oh, y'know...some of the older guys in our House and...well..."

"Slytherin." Shohei supplied helpfully. "Pretty sure some guys we don't know, but I think Yamasho-san was there."

"He didn't do any fighting, though." Kaisei interjected. "He just stood there and looked really, _really_ disappointed. Then both sides took the hint and backed off."

"Itsuki told me his wand was sparking because they'd angered him _that_ badly."

"He wouldn't do that."

"He would and you know it." Shohei shuddered. "But please don't tell him I said that."

Zin held up his hands to cut the two short. "I appreciate the depths of your information regarding this little...'incident', but perhaps you can explain to me _why_ they were fighting in the first place? Who started it? Who do I have to scold, if I do? And why am I hearing about this just now?" Appearances and trouble-making aside, he _was_ technically aiming to become a prefect next yearーone who would much prefer to keep House to House conflict at a minimum, at least until he graduated. He did not need a rivalry fiasco troubling him at every given opportunity, taking off points from their House and likely landing _someone_ in the infirmary. 

(He did not want a repeat of his first year. The sole saving grace was Riku's presence, as well as Likiya's solid advice. He hadn't been able to stand the Slytherins back then, but he would prefer tolerance and peace to constant sniping and aimed jabs, whether at heritage or bloodlines or what have you. He'd heard enough of it.)

"It's not as big a deal as Shohei made it sound," Kaisei responded soothingly. "Just some kids acting stupid and trying to be tough. If it had really gotten to blows, we'd all know by now. We _may_ have lost a few points for it, though. Both sides."

"Itsuki spent a _lot_ of time sniping at me for it," grumbled Shohei. "I'm not even in charge of those guysーwhat was I supposed to do about it? But apparently Kazuma gave them one of those death stares of his and that put their side of the lot to shame. Too bad we don't have anyone who could do that here. You reckon I'd be up for it? Or Kaisei? We can be pretty menacing when we want to."

Zin couldn't even muster a groan at this point.

It was just then that Hokuto, in all his flustered glory, suddenly decided to scramble to a stop right next to them, pumpkin leaves sticking here and there to his robe and his face flushed with excitement at whatever he had found. "Guys!"

"GAH," Shohei nearly jumped into the air, arms raised. "Hokuto don't _do_ that to me; I thought you were one of the professors!"

"Sorry," came the completely unapologetic response, followed by an enthusiastic, "Guys, I found them! They were tethered behind the paddocks today so I didn't see them at first; I don't think anyone's around, so let's go see! Come on!" Grabbing Shohei's arm in one hand and Kaisei's in the next, he proceeded to try to drag them out of their hiding spot, completely unconcerned with their flustered protests or confused remarks. Had Kaisei really set his foot down, he wouldn't have had much success "dragging" them around in the first place, but this was their little "prince of Gryffindor" as Riku liked to jokingly remark, and so they could rarely bring themselves to seriously fight back against their friend's whims.

Except...Zin was pretty sure he had heard the word "paddock", and when at Hogwarts, a paddock did not mean just a herd of peaceful, languid horses. 

"Hokuto, when you say 'paddock', you don't mean unicorns or something, do you...?" he asked, tentatively. It was worth a shot, but he was decently certain that everyone here already knew the answer to that question.

Likewise, Hokuto blinked three times, slowly, before laughing, as if Zin had made some tremendous joke. "Of course not, Zin-san! There's no unicorn paddock here anyway; they're too fast and elusive to be caught and kept. I mean the hippogriffs, of course!" And this he said with a wide smile, not a speck of malice to be seen.

Zin could feel himself getting faint. "Of course," he mumbled, "Silly me."

And that was where they made their second mistake.

* * *

"What are _you_ lot doing here?"

It hadn't taken long for them to reach the paddocks, owing to Hokuto's earlier scouting. Not ten minutes had passed before they found themselves facing the inconspicuous wooden fences, with the faint smell of wild beasts in the air. They couldn't see any of the hippogriffs (the name of the creature they were seeking made Zin feel faint); all the better, he supposed, for surely sneaking up on them from the trees and arriving unannounced would certainly put them into peril. Fortunately (or unfortunately) there was no one else around to catch them in their transgressions.

Or so he had thought, until a very curbed and icy voice pierced the four of them like an arrow.

Startled, he whirled around, wand at the ready. Shohei attempted to do the same, except his foot caught on the edge of Hokuto's robe, sending him sprawling into Kaisei. The latter's sole savior was his sturdy buildーthe crash sent only the smaller of the two flying, while the taller boy barely budged from the impact. Zin momentarily forgot his alarm and wished he could vanish on the spot. 

On the other end of his outstretched wand was the immensely unimpressed face of Yamamoto Shogoーor Yamasho, as everyone tended to call him. His only response to Zin's wand being mere centimetres from his nose was the faintest of eyebrow raises, barely a twitch. 

"Yamasho-san!" Kaisei's face brightened up considerably. 

"Oh no," mumbled Shohei as he struggled to collect himself off the ground. "My earlier words must've summoned him here. I'm done for. Tell Shogo and Rui they still owe me money, even if it's for my grave." Wordlessly, Hokuto tripped their friend again, just as he had scrambled to his feet.

_He's in a bad mood,_ was the first thought that came to Zin; if Yamasho was here, then it was likely he was here as the usual trio, and that meantー

"Yamasho-san, is there something over theー" Striding through the trees with an air of nobility, the two other members of what Likiya jokingly called the "royalty of Slytherin" joined their friend, who had glanced away from their quartet with a disinterested air. 

Zin debated if the crackle of the air was a good enough reason to keep his wand out, even as he lowered it from Yamasho's face.

Itsuki's first response to seeing the four of them was a very noticeable twist of his faceーto this day, Zin cannot discern if it comes from raw hostility or simply the awkwardness of being a longtime friend to someone in a House that, compared to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, had much more of a history in the rivalry between them. However, Zin is beginning to suspect that it is merely the tall boy's default expressionーhis "resting face", if he has the term correctly. As fellow feline lovers, they sometimes greet each other by asking how their respective cats are holding up, but he really can't claim to know much about the younger student. 

Shohei, bless his heart and inability to read the mood, even to this day, is back on his feet, dusting out leaves as he offers Itsuki a very cheerful greeting, which the latter returns halfheartedly.

He's not the problem though. Already, the thirdーand the leaderーof the trio is settling his expression into something between condescending amusement and prickly hostility, the sort of expression Zin can imagine a fierce doberman making as it watches a small Pomeranian holler at it despite its diminutive size. 

Kazuma glances at the rest of them, and Zin knows immediately that they are definitely not avoiding a confrontation today, peaceful weekend aside. He regrets turning down Riku's earlier invitation to join him and the rest of his friends in HufflepuffーShogo, Takuma, Ryu, and Ruiーfor tea.

Which brings them to their second mistake, if one can call this very poor coincidence such.

"Why are _you_ here, Yoshino?"

"What are _we_ doing here?" Hokuto asks incredulously. "We're doing something important, that's what. Not that it's any of your business anyway, Kawamura."

Yamasho sighs and Kaisei shoots him an apologetic glance. Shohei is blinking in abject confusion, while Itsuki continues to stare down at the four of them. 

"Yeah? And what could the illustrious students of the famed House of Gryffindor _possibly_ be doing at the hippogriff paddocks that is so 'important'?"

"I just said it's none of your business," came the thorny reply. "And anyway, what are you guys doing here yourselves?" _Talk about horrible timing,_ Zin hears the younger student complain under his breath, and he couldn't agree more.

Kazuma, for his part, looks like he's rather enjoying this, although Zin can't say for certain. He doesn't think any of the Slytherins are bad kids, honestly, but there are times where he wonders if the animosity between their two groups is something that comes naturally with their House rivalry, or is something that Kazumaーand maybe Itsuki, for all he knows about himーis purposely setting, out of either sheer boredom or some other, hard to pin emotion. It's not spite, he thinks. Or, at least, he would _like_ to think the constant jabbing at each other isn't something that comes from sinister or spiteful thoughts. It doesn't really _feel_ that way. If he had to give it a simple description, it felt more like Kazuma and his friends (or just the former in general) liked to jab at the four of them, Hokuto and his eternally (and surprisingly) fiery spirit in particular. 

"Why should we tell you? One secret to another, unless someone shares."

"Then forget it," Hokuto shoots a look at the paddocks, and Zin can see his fingers twitching in agitationーif they don't do anything to calm the situation, he realizes in a panic, these two might actually pull their wands out and start threatening each other. His face is already flushed a little from agitation and annoyance, and Zin worries that if this continues, wands or no, these two might actually come to blows of some kind. "Whatever it is you're doing, I don't care. But do it somewhere else; we were here first."

Itsuki snorted, "And just how are you going to prove that? _You're_ the ones who bumped into Yamasho-san, meaning he was here first."

"Don't drag me into this," the person in question muttered, eyes following a stray butterfly. Kaisei shrunk a little, downcast at the older student's sullen tone.

"Don't bully Hokuto, Itsuki." Shohei puffed himself up, fixing the taller boy with his sternest glare.

"And what are you going to do about it if I say I won't?" Itsuki crossed his arms. "Besides, I'm not bullying himーI'm just pointing out the truth. He has no say over whether we get to stay or have to go, unless he wants to explain what it is he's doing here and why that has more priority than us."

The corner of his lip curved upward, the dark-haired Slytherin fixed a gaze loaded with challenge at them. "Sorry, but unless you somehow force us to leave, we won't be giving up this spot to _you._ "

_By all means, take it; we'll leave,_ is what Zin wants to say, but he can already imagine the response his friends will have to _that._ Kaisei aside, Shohei is already puffing himself up against Itsuki, and Hokuto is glowering at Kazuma with enough force to murder.

"You don't think I will?" Hokuto's hands are reaching for his wand, and Zin is starting to seriously panic. It wouldn't be a laughing matter if they started a fight here, near the hippogriffs.

The hippogriffs...

"Is that a challenge?" Kazuma sounds genuinely delighted. "Are you sure you want to challenge me, Yoshino? Think you're up for it?"

"Shut _up,_ Kawamura."

"Wait." Zin holds his hands up, trying to placate the situation for even a bit; he feels he's forgetting something of vital importance. "Pause. Everyone, stop arguing for a second. Hokuto, I see the wand; just wait." Everyone freezes and stares at himーthe perfection of their timing is almost hilarious. But Zin can't laugh, because he has a very _bad_ feeling, and his gut is telling him he's probably not wrong.

"We've been making a _lot_ of noise, right...?"

"Yeah, and?" _Your point?_ Kazuma's face is scrunched in annoyance and confusion. Ironically enough, Hokuto's expression almost mirrors the former's to perfection.

"So, erm, I don't mean to make anyone panic, but isn't it a bit weird that none of the hippogriffs have noticed us by now...?"

Everyone pauses, as if in thought. Yamasho's voice, languid as it always is, pops up, "You know, I was wondering that myself. Especially since Shohei's voice is so unnecessarily _loudー_ " Across him, Shohei makes a wounded noise of affront, before promptly being cut off by Hokuto's sideways glare.

With almost laughable timing, they all collectively hear the silent, but certainly real, snap of a twig; the surefire proof of something creeping up on them. Not a single one of them moved, each gauging the opposite side as if challenging each other to be the one to look first. 

_Please let it be a stray puffskein or someone's familiar that got out of the common room._

He's not sure who breaks their stalemate firstーall he sees is everyone, himself included, slowly turn their heads towards the paddocks. The woods are suddenly eerily quiet, despite it still being the midst of a particularly gorgeous day. 

A hippogriff, slightly smaller than the ones he has seen in class in the past, is slowly trotting towards them, eagle eyes fixed on the two groups. It's mostly gray, speckled here and there with spots that range from a light gray close to white, then darkening towards its rear end. Its tail swished back and forth, and it was gazing at them with a look that didn't exactly scream "friendliness". If anything, it looked a little...upset.

Every lesson he had learned in Care of Magical Creatures flashed through his mind, from the rules about eye contact to the bowing, but faced with a hippogriff without the steady presence of a caretaker or instructor suddenly made him acutely aware of minor details he hadn't paid much attention to in the creature. Such as the sharpness of its claws. And its beak. Actually, as a whole the hippogriff was starting to look a little more dangerous than he had given it credit for previously.

Shohei's voice breaks the tense silence, shaking almost comically as he glances at his friends for help.

"What's the first rule when dealing with a hippogriff?"

Itsuki frowned, before replying, "I don't know; don't make it angry...?"

Zin sighed deeply in resignation. "Then I guess we've already failed rule number one."

The hippogriff didn't seem to like their continued conversation. Or maybe hushed whispers made no difference now, seeing as they had already treated it to an earful of their loud arguing. Either way, Zin recognized that look in its eyes; it was the face his cat made, glint and all, before a pounce. 

It was cute when a cat did it. But if this hippogriff pulled it on them and they didn't dodge in the nick of time, the results would certainly be anything but. 

"I think," Yamasho pipes up calmly, perfectly composed even in the face of danger, "That it would be best if we all split up and ran. And I would certainly suggest doing it before that hippogriff cub does what it is surely about to do."

Kaisei scrunched his nose. "No arguments there." 

As if those words were a signal, the seven of them immediately set off into different directions, running as if their cloaks had been lit by a fire. Behind them, they heard a large thump and a yowl, but Zin refused to turn his head; he wasn't going to stop running, he decided resolutely, until he was back in the castle. 

And that was exactly what he didーuntil he heard behind him the sounds of someone crashing and falling.

* * *

"So what did we all learn today?" Riku's disappointed face hovers above Hokuto's infirmary bed as he leans in over Zin's shoulder. The injured boy only gives a discomforted squirm, glowering mutinously at the older Gryffindor student as if to curse him for some unforgivable slight. Zin's only response is to shrug his shoulders in a weak attempt at apology, while Shogo, who had tagged along, offers his friend a warm, slightly sympathetic smile.

In the end, neither Gryffindor or Slytherin had lost any points for their little hippogriff fiasco; as a matter of fact, none of the professors seemed to have noticed it at all. Kaisei later sheepishly told him he'd gone back (this time on the pretense of visiting the professor in charge) to check if the hippogriff had escapedーand that was where he had learned the creature had been tethered the whole time. Even if it had attempted a pounce, it wouldn't have gotten far.

"Turns out that the whole 'pouncing' thing isn't really a 'pounce', either," was Kaisei's sunny report. "They sorta just rush forward like they're gonna headbutt you? As a warning, the book says. So I guess we were safe, really." 

The sounds of crashing and falling, on the other hand, had been Hokuto; he had tripped running back up to the castle. What should have been just a fall from clumsiness had become a rather serious injury when he had twisted his ankle on the cobblestone steps, falling in a rather nasty manner that had left him unable to walk. A few quick remedies had done the trick afterwards, but on the way to infirmary, they had had to carry him. Or, rather, they had _tried_ toーonly to be stopped by Kazuma, who had wordlessly looped the other's arm around his neck and half-carried him to the infirmary. No one had said a single word the entire way; not even Hokuto, who was normally very vocal and would've protested being held like a child, much less by the Slytherin boy, had said a peep the whole time. 

He didn't think the others in either of their Houses had noticed, but Zin had clearly seen the expression on the normally aloof and cool boy's face. It had been a bit of a shock to see those sharp and piercing eyes, normally brimming with confidence, wavering, and to see the typical composure of his face completely overturned, almost blue with panic. He wasn't sure whyーhowever, he was sure Hokuto must've seen it too, for the boy hadn't expressed a single word of discontent the entire way, almost as if cowed into silence by the suddenness of his rival's actions. 

After he had deposited Hokuto in the infirmary, he hadn't left, even when his two friends had returned ahead to their common room; even when Zin, Kaisei, and Shohei had all bid their friend a good night, he had been wordlessly sitting a short length away. The infirmary had been infused with a sort of thick air, hard to penetrate, and it had made things awkward, to say the least. However, when he'd come back the next morning, Riku and Shogo in tow, there had been no sign of the other boyーwhen tentatively asked, Hokuto refused to touch on it. 

"Come on, Riku-san..." Shogo put his hand on his fellow Hufflepuff's arm. "No one actually touched or got hurt by the hippogriff, and it's not Hoku-chan's fault if he wanted to see the hippogriffs with how freely they're allowed to roam." With his other hand, he dexterously handed their bedridden friend a Chocolate Frog. "If the school wants us to stay away from them, they should do a bit more of a job reinforcing that part, don't you think?" In his hands, he was fiddling with the frames of Hokuto's glasses. He hadn't been wearing them the other day; a saving grace, he supposed, considering what had occurred to their owner.

"They shouldn't _have_ to, because we're not supposed to go moving on our curiosity each and every time, Shogo!" Riku responded fussily, making the younger roll his eyes affectionately. "The next time you pull this sort of stunt, Hoku-chan, I'llーI'llー"

"You'll what, Riku-san?" came the cheeky reply. 

"Give him time, he's thinking." Zin gave his blonde friend a teasing look. 

"Oh, shush!" Riku gave them all a hurt look. "I'llーI'll steal all of Hoku-chan's Chocolate Frogs! And his Pumpkin Pastries! I'll ban you from all sweets whatsoever!" With that proclamation, he dove forward, hand outstretched for the younger boy's candy, which lay sprawled over the sheetsーall get-well gifts from friends and a few of Hokuto's (although he seemed largely unaware of this) fans. Giving a shriek of excitement, their recovering friend folded his top half over the candies, curling himself around them like a mother dog does her pups. 

"Be _quiet,_ guys, this is the infirmaryー" he tried to say, when all of a sudden the door opened with a speed that belittled its weight. 

On the other side of the doorway, Kazuma stood there awkwardly, hand rubbing his neck. On the cot, Zin could feel Hokuto bristle a little, albeit with much less hostility than normal.

".........." Kazuma didn't move from the doorway.

".........." Hokuto glanced down at his sheets wordlessly. Shogo and Riku glanced at each other. Zin sighed, before smacking the younger boy over the head.

"OW! Zin-san, what the heck?!"

"Come on, Hokuto, don't you have something you should say?" 

His friend's cheeks reddened at that, but he gave no protestーsome arguments, his friend knew, were not always going to be resolved with loud protesting. After several seconds of silence, the Gryffindor opened his mouth, a small voice muttering "Thank you," weakly filling the room. However, within the silence of the infirmary, the words echoed and rebounded across the walls, painting the young student's face an even fiercer shade of scarlet as he clutched his sheets.

Kazuma, for his part, looked a little surprised at the gratitude, but it quickly faded into his usual cool, aloof expression. "It wasn't a big deal," was the simple reply. "But next time, watch your footing." Hokuto's head shot up, and Zin was surprised to see something like hurt color his eyes. 

However, the other boy had already turned, closing the doors behind him, and so they were left in a pool of stifling silence, each giving each other nervous glances as they gauged what to say next.

_A bit cold, considering he looked like the world was ending yesterday..._

"Hoku-chan, are you..." _Ok?_ is the unspoken word that Shogo tries to utter, before he is cut off by Hokuto's sudden loud groan of frustration.

"I can't _believe_ it!" The red-haired boy covered his face with his hands. "I can't believe I let myself trip like that! In front of Kawamura, of all people! AND he was the one who carried me andー _GAAAH,_ this sucks! Of all the people! Him! A jerk like him!" Hokuto's fists pounded into the sheets as the three of them stared, more than a little startled by the outburst. 

"Cーcalm down, Hoku-chan..." Shogo tries, soothingly, but he can't hide the hint of amusement that colors his face as he speaks. 

"I'm sure that was his way of showing concern~" Riku grins, his face that of a child who has discovered an immensely amusing secret none of his friends know. "It's cute! I didn't think he was so shyーHoku-chan, I'm kinda jealous!"

"Jealous of _what,_ exactly?! Of having exposed your weakness to someone soーsoーarrogant?!"

"Hokuto, calm down; and stop yelling in the infirmary!"

"Zin-san, you say that, but now _you're_ doing it..."

"Hey! Shogo, give that Chocolate Frog back! I need to see the card!"

"Oh come on; you have all these sweets, can't you spare at least one?"

"You can have the frog! Just gimme my card!"

"Hokuto, what did I _just_ sayー"

"Zin, Zin, calm down already..."

In the end, Zin recalls, they never found out why Kazuma and his group had showed up at the hippogriff paddocks at the same time they had, or why Hokuto had wanted to go see them in the first place, for that matter. Several weeks after the incident, he brought it up offhandedly, out of pure curiosity.

"Oh, that," Hokuto scratched his neck sheepishly. "Actually, I heard some of the Ravenclaws mentioning how hippogriffs looked really cool when they were roaming around without humans monitoring them or putting them on guard. I wanted to go see, too, so I asked them where the paddocks were and what times the professors weren't there. It was all really helpful." Here he paused, tilting his head in thought.

"Now that I think about it, Kawamura and his friends were there at that time, too, for some reason. I wonder why?"

**Author's Note:**

> I forgot how much I love this series. It's the first fantasy series I ever touched and finished.  
> I had great dreams of becoming a wizard...Now all that is left is me, a cape, and a fluffy owl who sits on my bed and reminds me to do my homework by staring into my soul...
> 
> On a side note, I'm sorry for not posting updates recently, but as I stated earlier I am on an impromptu break. I'm barely passing one class, and the others are fine but they take quite a bit of work as well. Things are a work in progress, so I can't give specific dates...but I don't want to drop things or stop posting altogether, so if you could all kindly watch over me as I struggle to get my sh*t together, that would be most wonderful.  
> As usual, comments and kudos would be greatly appreciated, and if anyone has any suggestions or ideas or would like to see something in the future, please feel free to post it here.


End file.
